A-Z Blog Challenge: G is for Guinea Pigs

and why they are commonly known as that I have no idea since they don't come from Guinea in Africa (or New Guinea, the big island just to the north of Australia, for that matter) and they certainly don't resemble the golden guinea, a coin that was part of British currency in circulation up to 1816. Nor are they related to pigs and, as far as I can see, have nothing in common with them at all - unless someone thought their loud squeaks resembled a pig (which they do not). The trouble is that the name guinea pig is firmly established in public usage and while breeders prefer the name cavy it's not likely to change in most places any time soon.

In fact what we know as guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus officially) are originally from South America. They are rodents which have been domesticated and as such do not exist in the wild. They are believed to have originated from a closely related species Cavia tschudii. In their homelands they are kept for meat and also used in folk medicine and religious ceremonies.

That's not the case in Western countries, though, where they are mainly kept as pets - and delightful pets they make. They are docile, friendly and surprisingly intelligent for such small creatures. When my kids were young we shared our lives with Pam and Barbara - named by my young son after two family friends, who I suspect would not have appreciated the honour had they known - and for a short time, the only male, Guinea (apparently he was running out of inspiration at that point).

The two females could not have been more different in personality. Pam was small, short-haired and exceedingly busy all the time. Whenever anyone went into the yard she would bustle over to the fence around the run and chatter noisily. She loved to be stroked and enthusiastically explored whenever she was let out and never minded being picked up. Barbara was much bigger with a longer coat and did pretty much nothing. She ate, drank and lay in the sun. We nicknamed her the Brick in the end. She didn't object to being picked up but nor did she show any interest. Guinea was a cranky little creature who died suddenly from no obvious cause but he did leave a memento when Pam unexpectedly gave birth to a single baby which sadly also died within weeks.

Pam and Barbara were with us until they died of old age and Pam at least was very much missed.

A-Z Blog Challenge: F is for Fairies

If you know any little girls you've probably been dragged into the experience of fairydom complete with special dresses (usually filmy, ruffled and sugary pink), small, delicate looking wings that sit between the shoulder blades and are often speckled with glitter, and of course, the wand - also usually glittery and with a star at the business end. There may be a crown of some sort, too. It looks something like the iconic photos of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, in the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Yes, I know she's a witch not a fairy, but I'm only talking appearance here.

The thing is viewing fairies like this is a relatively recent phenomenon. Back before the Victorians prettified them, fairies and the rest of the fey were something quite different. They were 'other' in very disturbing and alien ways and, if you were wise, you tried very hard not to draw their attention to you. It was best not to name them at all if you could avoid it but, if you had to, you could call them 'the Shining Ones', the 'Fair' or the 'Fair Folk'. That way they might be flattered and leave you alone or even do you a favour - although their idea of a favour might not be what you would think of as one. If, for instance, you're a fiddler asked to play for a party of the fey on your way home from the market and you're well paid for your trouble, you may find once the party is over that fifty years have passed.

The fey came in many shapes and sizes ranging from human sized and like to quite tiny creatures, all of whom could fly by magic - no delicate insect-like wings needed. Some lived in Faerie or Fairyland but others, like the English brownies, might live in your house or barn and do small tasks for you as long as you didn't offend them. You would be wise to leave them some sort of small offering of food or milk. Otherwise your milk might curdle or your butter fail.

Unlike brownies, some of the Fair were downright malicious so it was better not to put yourself in their way at all if possible, because you could never tell which was which and even those who were friendly were easily offended and might take revenge on you. They might exchange your baby for one of their own and carry it off to Faerie or put an evil spell on you, for instance. Remember what happened in Sleeping Beauty? And if one fell in love with you and carried you off, you would never be seen again.

There were things you could do to protect yourself. Everyone knew fairies couldn't stand cold iron so an iron or steel object was a handy thing to have with you. If you didn't have that, you could try keeping a piece of dry bread or a four-leafed clover in your pocket and, if you had to go somewhere fairies might see you, putting your clothes on inside out to confuse them and/or carrying a bell with you might help. Some of these superstitions lasted up to as recently as the 1920s so not as long ago as you might imagine.

Want to know more? Well, you could have a look here.

A-Z Blog Challenge: E is for English

and all its mysterious workings.

For the past couple of years I've been studying French and German via the Duolingo website. It's been fun and educational in more ways than just improving my knowledge of those two languages.

Duolingo.com is a US based website so when it was first set up - and I began learning there very soon after that  - it was very US centric. If you used a phrase or spelling that varied from the US version when you translated something you were likely to be marked as incorrect. It was extremely annoying as you can imagine but, thanks to them having a system where you could report such matters, things rapidly improved - although a few intractable issues remained for a long time, hardly surprising when much of the work is done by volunteer moderators. They now accept a number of regional variants in most areas - even if I'm still pushing them to accept a couple of Australianisms like 'How are you going?'.

The interesting thing, though, comes in the discussion sections where you can ask questions and have them answered by the moderators or other students and comment on various matters. This is a very helpful part of the learning process but it's also where people can get testy and where the many and varied differences as to what constitutes 'correct' English shows up. Many see their regional variant as the only correct usage and sometimes they defend this fiercely.

As I have a degree in English and am an English teacher by profession, I'm often tempted to join in these fiery discussions but I've learned a thing or two about the internet over the years and so, unless it's a simple grammatical or structural issue, I bite my tongue - or perhaps that should be hold back my fingers. It's by far the safest way as many of these commenters - who I presume come from a fairly insular background where they rarely meet people different from themselves - are so convinced they are right that there's no likelihood I'll change their minds.

Fortunately these people are the minority. One of the things I really like about Duolingo is how most people want to help and will go out of their way to do so. It makes for a pleasant learning system and one that, now I'm close to finishing in both languages, I will miss.

ink i

A-Z Blog Challenge: D is for Dog

Dogs have always been a part of my life. My family was never without a dog and usually a cat as well and when I married that did not change. I brought my cat with me and we were soon were joined by our first dog and we've rarely been without one since. This first dog was a labrador retriever cross who came to us as a five week old puppy. Far too young really to leave her mother but it was unavoidable because her mother had developed mastitis and become seriously ill and unable to feed her litter. She thrived, repaying us with love. When I was suffering from severe morning sickness and confined to bed while pregnant with my first child she would creep onto my bed - something that was usually not allowed since I'm not a fan of dogs on beds - lying with a paw on my feet all day until my husband came home.

There have been others since then, of course. There was the rescued kelpie cross pup who had been abandoned at our local vet and who shared our lives for over sixteen years. Then, when my parents went travelling, their dog came to us. She was with us for another ten years before she died at a few months off twenty. And finally my sweet little Cavalier King Charles spaniel who died aged twelve and a half just over a year ago.

While it breaks your heart every time you lose a doggy companion, life doesn't feel complete somehow without one around and, while we are frequent dog sitters for Virgo's dog, it simply isn't enough. So now we are looking for another dog. All we have to decide is whether we want to take on a puppy or one that is somewhat past that stage. Whatever we decide we are agreed that it will be a rescue dog so we can give an otherwise unwanted dog a chance at a happy life.

Wish us luck.

A-Z Blog Challenge: C is for Cats, Big Cats

No, not this kind of kitty cat

I'm talking about the big cats - the kind people go on safari to see. They are on my mind at the moment because there was series of documentaries recently on pay TV focussing on these big cats and fascinating creatures they are, too - and there are more of them than I expected with every continent except Australia having at least two species.

So I thought I'd make some of them the topic for a few of my A-Z Blog Challenge posts starting today with cheetahs.




While technically cheetahs are not classified as big cats because they don't roar they are by no means tiny and these beautiful creatures are only marginally smaller than the other large cats found in Africa  where they are most common. Small populations are also found in Iran and south western Asia. Cheetahs have short, coarse fur which is tawny coloured and covered with black spots each 2-3 cms in diameter. They have a graceful form with a deep chest and noticeable waist, long legs and a relatively small head. The face has a dark tear like streak from the inner corner of each eye which outlines the nose and muzzle giving them a very distinctive appearance. They communicate by chirps, churring and purring but can also growl.

They are day time hunters, preying on smaller mammals like Thompson's gazelles, springbok and impala when hunting alone but family groups or male coalitions (groups of males, usually brothers, who form life long bonds) will tackle larger prey like zebra and wildebeeste. They are able to reach speeds of 120 kmh (75 mph) over short distances making them the fastest land animal on Earth. They tend to live on open savannah and grasslands where prey is bountiful.

Cheetahs are less aggressive than the other big cats and in one of the documentaries one wild family had decided that the photographers were no threat and came to greet them, even climbing on top of their vehicle to use it as a vantage point and resting in the shade it gave. They have been kept as pets at different times in history and there are paintings of them on the walls of ancient Egyptian tombs, sometimes walking on a leash but at other times out they seem to be part of a hunting party.

Sadly they are under threat due to low genetic variability (the cause is unknown but is assumed to be linked to a genetic bottleneck at some time in the distant past), the illegal pet trade, conflict with humans - a problem for all big cats - and habitat destruction.

Fascinating creatures, aren't they.

If you want you can find out more about cheetahs here and here.

A-Z Blog Challenge: B is for Buttons

Recently one of those 'Like if you know what this is' memes was going round Facebook and the picture we were supposed to comment on was one of these.










Apparently whoever put the meme together was under the impression that this - a button box or spare button collection - was incredibly old-fashioned and something that nobody in the twenty first century would have. I doubt if they are under that illusion any more because the comments exploded with people of all ages sharing that they still have collections of spare buttons. And why wouldn't they?

The last couple of pairs of pants I bought for myself and those I bought recently for Pisces - he's a man who prefers not to shop for himself - as well as shirts bought for both of us came with spare buttons and thread in natty little packets and they have to go somewhere, don't they? Sometimes you can find a place on the garment where they can be sewn in case they're needed at some time in the future but more often than not they need a temporary home. Add in some one who sews and knits - that would be me - and a lot of spare buttons accumulate. So da-da we have a button box/collection.

Granted some of the buttons in my button box have been there a long time - you need four buttons and can only buy them in a pack of six or you need eight and have to buy two packs of six - and they build up over the years but what else am I supposed to do with the excess. I could toss them but that's wasteful and besides the time may well come when I need to replace one of the originals or for that matter have find one to replace a stray that's gone missing and I'd rather go to my button collection than have to buy a complete new set. Truth be told I haven't actually bought a replacement button in more years than I care to remember.

So meme maker, button collections are not old fashioned. They are simply good sense.

A-Z Blogging Challenge: A is for Apples

In the early 1980s my father suggested we go to an open day at the Stoneville Horticultural Research Station in the hills outside Perth. This was run by the State Department of Agriculture and sadly has now been closed down and the land sold off. We were toying with the idea of going farming at the time so I packed up the kids and off we went.

It was a cold, miserable, late winter's day and we joined one of the groups being shown around the experimental plantings of various fruit trees. The hills area is well-known for stone fruit orchards and we first wandered along rows of leafless peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines with flower buds just starting to develop and learned about various methods of laying out an orchard and which were most successful in what area. Then we moved on to the apples and pears, all of which looked pretty lifeless, too, but we learned a lot.

The tour ended with us moving into the relative warmth of a big shed where we were invited to sample 'something special' that they had recently developed. The 'something special' turned out to be four different kinds of apple, two of which were very familiar - the pale gold American Golden Delicious apple and the rich red, tangy Lady Williams (a local Western Australian apple which originated from a stray seedling on a farm at Donnybrook in the south west of the state). The others were not.

We were told they were the offspring of Golden Delicious and Lady Williams apples and had been developed by John Cripps, the head of research at the research station. They were just about to become commercially available. Originally known as Cripps Pink (marketed as Pink Lady™) and Cripps Red (marketed as Sundowner™ - apparently it was a sport from the Cripps Pink) they were a revelation when we were offered a taste. Both were sweet, crunchy and had a pleasant tang and, we were told, both are suitable for eating fresh and cooking. As an added bonus they also store exceptionally well.

It's fascinating to think that - apart from the developers and the orchardists who first planted them commercially - we were among the first to taste these apples and they remain my favourites, both fresh and cooked.